


Filling in the gaps

by Blimey



Category: The Haunting of Bly Manor (TV)
Genre: Amelia - Freeform, F/F, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Gothic, Happy Ending, Lesbian Sex, Makes your heart beat fast, Real Life, Romance, Spoilers, The Gardener - Freeform, Victoria - Freeform, the narrator - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-20
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:09:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27645965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blimey/pseuds/Blimey
Summary: I have a story, well, it isn’t really my story, it belongs to Mike Flannigan... and it’s not exactly short. I love a good ghost story (so long as it doesn’t break up Dani and Jamie). Let’s tell this story again, with new scenes, filling in the blanks of the existing ones and enjoying the tingle of Jamie and Dani getting together all over again. Without missing those important moments (*cough* bed scene) no deaths but plenty of agonisingly poor timed Flora interruptions… this is Bly Manor uncut, oh and there might be a twist ;-)ORAll the extra soft and smutty Dani and Jamie scenes you could ask for plus the fan fic you never asked for exploring Victoria and Amelia's chemistry. AU, obviously ;-)
Relationships: Dani Clayton/Jamie
Comments: 36
Kudos: 73





	1. Chapter 1

**ON THE APPROACH TO BLY MANOR - 1987**

Dani woke with a jolt, she had only closed her eyes for a few seconds, hadn’t she? The au pair rubbed her face and looked out the car window. The landscape rushed by like an impressionist painting. She hadn’t had much sleep since her drink with Lord Wingrave and she had the sick feeling of fatigue nestled in the pit of her stomach. Or was that nerves? Sometimes the two feelings were hard to tell apart.

“Oh, sorry about that, country roads.”

Dani leaned forward and rested her arms on the front passenger seat. She blinked the sleep away and let her gaze rest on Owen. A large moustache and glasses adorned his dark, friendly face.

“How long was I out?” She asked, sweeping her dishevelled hair back.

“Oh, a while. Are you still on American time?” Owen glanced at her and winked.

Dani grimaced and conceded “I haven’t gotten much sleep lately.” Her eyes darted towards the rear-view mirror, they didn’t settle there long. She placed her chin on her arms and watched the road snake around mesmerisingly ahead of them.

“Ah. Well, hostels aren’t terribly restful. You’ll find it much quieter around here.”

“It’s gorgeous.” She said with genuine enthusiasm. So much greenery and peacefulness, the perfect antidote? Hopefully.

Owen sighed. “Is it? I can’t tell anymore personally. I was born in Bly. The town I mean, not the manor. Escaped for a bit, spent some time in France. Studying to be a chef.”

Dani looked at him surprised “And here I was just thinking you were the driver!”

“No no, only sometimes, when Henry asks me. Frankly, I’m a rubbish driver. But not a bad cook it turns out. We all do our bit in the Manor. There’s Hannah Grose, she’s the housekeeper, keeps those kids in check, they respect her.” He paused and smiled softly, “we all do.”

His expression changed when he talked about the housekeeper. He seemed to have a soft spot for Mrs Grose, she wondered if the feeling were mutual. She suspected Lord Wingrave wouldn’t approve of workplace relationships, however. He seemed to be all business after all.

Owen continued, “We have a gardener at Bly. Jamie is private, matter of fact, takes no bullshit from the kids but would do anything for them, though doesn’t seem to like Miles much at the moment. They have, how do I put it? A turbulent relationship. I’m sure you’ll get on just fine, so long as you don’t interfere with Bly’s plants.”

So, the gardener might be challenging, noted, thought Dani. It’s not like she didn’t have experience with difficult people, she had been a teacher after all, plus, she was an open, honest person, people usually responded to that. The last thing she wanted was an awkwardness with Jamie. She’ll make sure he knows she understands boundaries and won’t meddle with the grounds. She’d never had a green thumb anyway, best leave well enough alone, but she felt a ball of apprehension settle in her already tumultuous stomach.

“Finally, there are the kids, you probably already know a little bit about Flora and Miles. Miles is a difficult child, got kicked out of school, though I think maybe there was more to it than he lets onto. Perhaps he was bullied, he doesn’t really open up much. Not surprising after all they have been through.” He paused. “Flora is the opposite, she’s a sweet, friendly, overly helpful young lady, but loves attention. I don’t want to put you off, but you’re going to have your hands full. We are all in it together though, myself, Hannah and even Jamie have your back.” Owen rounded the corner and the Gothic Manor of Bly loomed on the horizon, framed by some of the most beautiful landscape of rolling hills and woodland Dani had even seen.

She gasped. “God, is that…”

Owen slowed the car and smiled. “Like I said, plenty to love.”

“Can I get out and walk the rest of the way?” Dani asked eagerly.

The cook pulled over and let Dani out by a small gate on the edge of the grounds. “I’ll get the kettle on for when you arrive” he called out of the window as he pulled away.

“Four sugars please!” Dani shouted at the back of the retreating car.

**_Narrator: The au pair watched the car make its way to the main entrance, smiled to herself and stepped through the gate, following a well maintained, tree lined path deeper into the grounds. There were acorns on the floor, leaves crunching underfoot, the au pair loved this time of year. The woodland hummed with the sound of animals going about their daily routines and vibrated with autumnal colours._ **

Dani exited woodland and entered a clearing with a brick well. Beside it, a dark-skinned, woman in burgundy stood, hands gripping the sides, a distracted look on her face. A small boy, hands behind his back, stood beside her. He turned when he heard the woman approach and his handsome round face lit up with an enthusiastic smile.

“Are you the new au pair?!” He exclaimed, reaching his hand out.

Dani extended her hand to his, Miles took it firmly and planted a gentle kiss on the back of her fingers.

“Well, what a gentleman!” Dani said in surprise.

She turned to the woman by the well and cheerfully said “and this must be Mrs Grose. Hi!”

The housekeeper turned and looked embarrassed, touching the back of her smooth head nervously with her fingertips and struggled to find a greeting for Dani. “Oh… sorry… I wa—I was miles away. I’m Hannah Grose, you can call me Hannah. It’s a pleasure to meet you Dani. You made it here in one piece, I trust your journey was ok?”

Dani smiled warmly “Oh yes it was perfect.”

“Oh wonderful, that Owen, he is a fine young man. Good sort.” Hannah spoke with a similar fondness that Owen had used when speaking about her.

There was definitely something there Dani thought, unspoken or otherwise, they appear to have a great respect for each other. She found herself worrying that she might disrupt the equilibrium that the people of the manor have built.

“Shall we make our way to the house? I’m sure Miss Clayton would like to have a cup of tea and meet Flora.” Mrs Grose led the way out of the clearing into the formal gardens.

They passed under an arch, entangled with roses, Dani let her eyes graze across the plants and flowers, Jamie definitely had a good touch when it came to gardening. “So, is Jamie the only gardener here?” Dani inquired. “This seems a lot of work for one person.”

The housekeeper agreed “yes, the grounds are massive, Jamie works alone, I think she likes it like that. I find my hand drifting to the mop bucket every time she enters the house though, in she saunters, leaving muddy footprints in her wake. One day I’ll hand her the mop myself.” She squeezed Miles hand and herded him towards the manor.

Dani stopped walking, Jamie was a woman? It was unusual to find typical roles subverted in the 80s. A male cook, a female gardener, perhaps Lord Wingrave was more progressive thinking than she had assumed. Or he just didn’t care enough, that was probably more likely. Dani swept blonde hair from her eyes, behind her ears and spotted a hosepipe on the path, weaving off to what looked like an orchard. She glanced back at Hannah and Miles as they walked towards the house, put her thumbs under her backpack straps and started following the hose. She figured the destination would lead to Jamie, might as well get all the ‘hellos’ out the way as quickly as possible, for everyone’s sake.

A small woman wearing a baggy striped shirt and jeans crouched by a large fruit bush. Dani could only see her back, dark curly hair cascading down slender but strong looking shoulders. She wore boots, dirty with mud and was holding a bowl of berries. The gardener was carefully picking fruit from the bush oblivious she had an audience. Dani, cleared her throat and stepped forward to introduce herself when she felt someone grab her hand –

“You’re Miss Clayton!” a small girl squealed.

“I am.” Dani turned away from the gardener and beamed at Flora. Truth be told, she was a touch relieved by the interruption.

“Oh, and you’re so pretty.” The little girl shook the au pairs hand. “I told Miles you’d be pretty. How perfectly splendid!”

“You must be Flora” Dani said still shaking Flora’s hand. “You startled me!”

 _“Fuck.”_ The curse came from the gardener’s direction.

Dani risked a sidewards glance back at Jamie, she couldn’t see her face, but she seemed to be examining her hand intensely, it looked like she was bleeding. Dani frowned, concerned the woman was hurt.

Flora tugged on the au pairs hand eagerly for attention. “I’m just so, so pleased you’re here.” She seemed genuinely thrilled. “Mrs Grose will want to meet you, and Miles and Owen and Jamie.”

Dani crouched to eye level with Flora. “You know, I’ve met Miles, Mrs Grose and Owen already and I was about to say hello to Jamie.” Her eyes flicked again towards the fruit bush, but the gardener had disappeared. Dani sighed and stood up, “Shall we join the others? I hear Owen is making tea for everyone.”

Flora grabbed Dani’s hand and pulled her playfully towards the manor “That sounds perfectly ----”

\--------------------- *** ---------------------

Owen had asked Jamie to pick some fruit for a crumble he was planning to make for the au pairs first night. Jamie dreaded it when someone new started working at the manor. People were hard work, getting to know people was hard work and quite frankly, she didn’t have the energy to be social tonight. It had been a long day and she just wanted to open a bottle of wine and chill out to some records.

The gardener heard the crunch of footsteps approaching and stopped herself from turning around. She wasn’t in the mood for endless conversations about how everything was splendid with Flora and if it was Miles, he would be there to cause trouble, there was something wrong with that boy, he had a dangerous edge to him lately.

“You’re Miss Clayton!” Flora exclaimed in a high-pitched excited voice. Jamie’s body tensed.

“I am.” The voice was female, American, Jamie didn’t know from where in particular, didn’t know much outside of England really. This must be the new au pair Jamie thought, Miss Clayton sounded amused.

“Oh, and you’re so pretty, I told Miles you’d be pretty. How perfectly splendid!” As Flora babbled on, Jamie stole a glace over at the two of them. The au pair was crouching, her manner friendly, warm, attention completely focused on Flora. Long wavy hair framed a beautiful soft, goofy face, swept back behind her ears and settled on denim clad shoulders.

She _was_ pretty, Jamie thought as she felt herself blush. Distracted, she caught her hand on the thorny stem the blackberries adorned. “Fuck.” She breathed through the familiar pain. Fuck, why don’t I ever wear gloves? Jamie glared at the thick gloves in the grass next to her. She inspected the bleeding and pressed firmly down on the cut. Nothing major, just annoying. She stayed there for a few moments, waiting for the throbbing to subside. The gardener stood up, kicked the gloves and walked the berries to the house, being careful to avoid Flora and the Miss Clayton.

\--------------------- *** ---------------------

**LOS ANGELES - EARLY 2019**

“So, I called you in today because we have someone coming in to do a chemistry reading with you.” Mike Flannigan said to Victoria as he thumbed through the script in front of him, scribbling some notes in pencil. A camera stood in the corner of the room, a man was adjusting the angle and fiddling with the lens. A two-way mirror covered the backwall.

“Oh, I thought Oliver was going to play the part of The Gardener.” Victoria said matter-of -factly.

Mike looked up “I considered it, but I don’t think he works in the love story I want to tell. Also, you guys were siblings in Hill House, I think people might comment on that.”

Victoria scoffed, “Surely people can separate the two shows?”

Mike shrugged “You’d be surprised. Oliver is going to play the role of Peter, I think he will enjoy playing the bad guy. Anyway, I didn’t want to tell you too much about who I had coming in today, I want it to be as neutral an introduction as possible.”

A knock at the door. “Come in” said Mike.

“Your 4’clock is here Mr Flannigan” said the PA.

Mike smiled appreciatively and thanked him. “Send her in.”

Victoria looked towards the door and watched in interest as a petit blonde woman wearing dungarees over a forest green jumper walked in. She was … cute.

“Welcome Amelia, this is Victoria, I don’t know if you guys have worked together before?” Mike asked.

“No” both women said in unison, smiling pleasantly and shaking hands. Amelia’s handshake was warm, confident, Victoria found herself breaking eye contact a fraction too late.

Mike gestured to a chair. “Take a seat Amelia, let me bring you guys up to date with what I want from Dani and The Gardeners story and then we’ll get you to read through a couple of scenes, sound good? Want a drink either of you?” He raised a pitcher of water enquiringly.

“Yes” they both said in unison again. Amelia leaned forward and grabbed two cups of water, handing one of them to Victoria.

“Thanks.” she smiled at Amelia. Amelia grinned a toothy grin back.

Mike wheeled his chair forward and put his chin in his hands. “So, the love story I want to tell is one where two people grow to learn and love eachothers faults. These characters will complete eachother and the relationship will run parallel to a toxic one, so we can show the difference between love and possession. Dani and Jamie’s relationship is between two people who are in love. Not two women. Just two humans who have found their person in the world. We want to make people invested in these characters journeys, how they converge, we want them to cry. We will make them cry. I’m not going to lie, it’s not necessarily going to be a happy ending but it’s not going to be all bad.” Mike took a sip of water and looked at the two women in front of him. “So, before we talk anymore, I want you to act out a couple of scenes for me.” He handed the women the scripts. “Take some time to read through them and I’ll be back to make sure everything is ready to go shortly.”

The two women sat for ten minutes in complete silence devouring line by line of the dialogue, only the sound of pages occasionally turning punctured the air around them. The atmosphere in the room felt electric, they’d barely said five words to eachother but didn’t have to say more than that, for Victoria to know there was already chemistry between them.

The door opened, startling the actresses out of their reading. “So”, Mike gestured to the camera, are you ready?”

\--------------------- *** ---------------------

Amelia looked down and sighed. She paused looking at the small, white piece of paper in Victoria’s hand. It had two stick people drawn on it. “and believe me, those two… believe me, that was the wrong kind of love.”

“We have all been in the wrong kind of love, one way or another” Victoria said softly.

“Mm hmm, but I saw how he twisted himself into ‘er”. Amelia felt Victoria’s gaze settle on her face. “Burrowed in deep.” Her voice almost at a whisper. “I know why so many people mix up love and possession”. Amelia cocked her head and locked eyes with Victoria. The actress felt that familiar lurching feeling in her stomach when she found someone undeniably attractive. “But guess what that means? He didn’t just trap ‘er.” She paused. “He trapped 'imself.” Amelia shook her head gently and looked back down at the piece of paper. “And I hope she haunts that fucker forever.” Her brow creased with the intensity of the words.

Victoria took a moment, more than a moment to look at Amelia. She liked how there seemed resigned yet furious energy in her eyes. This scene was working, she felt it. Amelia felt it too, she could tell. Victoria finally spoke. “People do, don’t they? Mix up love and possession.” They locked eyes, it felt too intense, this was a really fucking romantic conversation and Victoria wanted to open a window. Her skin was pricking under the other actresses stare.

“Yeah they do.” Amelia said, a hint of a nod. She didn’t blink. Didn’t break eye contact.

“I don’t think that should be possible. I mean, they’re opposites, really. Love and ownership.” Victoria delivered the lines in a gentle, yet matter-of-fact way. She had never felt so much intensity in a read-through before. It felt like they were the only ones in the room, a spark of something tethering them together. They sat, in mismatched office chairs, shoulders almost touching, Amelia slouched, just slightly, with a plastic cup of water in her hand, nursing it like a mug of tea. Their eye contact didn’t waver.

“Yeah” Amelia said almost at a whisper. Her eyes flicked down to Victoria’s mouth, lingered there.

The sound of clapping snapped them out of the moment. Mike stood up and looked over to the writers and said, “I think we’ve found our Gardener”.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't intend such a long gap between the first chapter and this one but work got in the way. I enjoyed writing this chapter, the first was more of an introduction to the stories direction. This one sets the feel/tone the story will take over the remaining chapters. Victoria and Amelia will be treated with respect, I've found some mental loopholes haha, but Dani and Jamie are fair game when it comes to being more raunchy ;-)

**VANCOUVER - SPRING 2019**

Victoria’s reflection watched as the intimate army of people buzzed around her. She sat illuminated in front of a light lined mirror, shrouded in a thick cloud of hairspray. Her steel-blue eyes followed the make-up artist’s experienced hands as she added a pale pink blush to her cheeks. Hairspray settled around her, like a cloak, completing her disguise. She had to admit, her hair had never looked as good as it did right now, she smiled and enjoyed a moment of appreciation for the 80s bouffant style and the rare tingle of feeling sexy, albeit in the body of Dani. Her character had a softness about her that the make-up artist seemed to conjure perfectly. Victoria wasn’t so soft, her and Dani weren’t that much alike, the actress didn’t think. She shared Dani’s fierce protectiveness of the people that mattered the most to her and she admired her boldness, but she was not a patient person. Some might say she shared the same awkwardness the au pair had, but it wasn’t Victoria that was awkward, it was that she sometimes made others feel awkward, albeit never intentionally.

The actress closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of small, soft strokes as they traced their way across her face. She had been completely preoccupied for a couple of weeks, a busy shooting schedule at multiple locations had been swallowing her up and they were close to filming the last few scenes of the first episode. It was nice to take a moment and enjoy being pampered, it used to make her uncomfortable, but she had gotten better at letting someone else look after her. She still couldn’t get used to giving people her trash though, it’s something she will never be ok with. Point her to the bin and she’ll happily clear up her own mess.

Compared to her previous roles, this was much more demanding physically and mentally, she was in almost every scene. Victoria loved it of course, thrived on getting to know a new character, making her ‘hers’ but she had been a touch naïve perhaps and felt a surprising feeling of fatigue settle over her. Her mind couldn’t help but drift to the emotional scenes she knew were coming in a few months and they weighed heavily on her mind.

It wasn’t intentional, but Amelia and Victoria hadn’t really spent much time together since the initial cast meet and greet when first arriving in Vancouver. There had been so many people, the whole production team had been like a whirlwind around them and the actresses managed only a couple of fleeting boozy ‘hellos’ amongst all the chaos. The cast and crew all had trailers, to take some time out from the hustle and bustle of ‘on set’ life, but lived off location in various areas of the city. It was only a few days ago when they filmed their first scene together that she had even gotten a glimpse of Amelia on set and even then, it was the back of her head. Later on, she had seen the dungaree clad actress make her way over to say ‘hey’ from a distance, hand in the air waving, before Victoria got herded inside for Dani’s tour of the ‘house’. The children orbited around her like she had a gravity force of her own and it hadn’t been possible to have even a single moment with the other actress. They would need to make time, they had some important scenes to plan.

Amelia had smoothed over Victoria’s apologies over text, joking that it was for the good of the credibility of the show that they kept missing opportunities to talk in-between Victoria’s busy scene schedule, that it would add a touch of realism to Jamie and Dani’s first official encounter.

Since the pre-production party, if she were being honest, Victoria had been thinking about the other actress more than she expected. Her mind kept wondering back to the chemistry read in LA. She felt a tingle creep up her back as she recalled the intensity she had felt under Amelia’s look. They might as well have been the only people in the room, the way Amelia had let Jamie gaze at her. Her green brooding eyes, heavy lidded, hanging on Victoria’s every word. Those eyes would occasionally flit down to Victoria’s lips, so fleeting it was almost imperceptible to anyone but Victoria, then resumed that unwavering gaze. She had no idea if Amelia had sensed the intensity too, Victoria felt the tingle turn into heat, spreading from her face down to the pit of the stomach where it settled, a question mark of tightened stomach muscles. At the end of the scene, Victoria was as certain as Mike that this was the person she needed to tell this story with. It almost had felt necessary, more important than the both of them, this was a chance to break down stereotypes, normalize what currently still struggled to seem normal. Victoria had always been open about finding both women and men attractive and was a firm believer that everyone deserved to live authentically, it’s what resonated most to her when reading Mikes script. She found herself wondering, based on that moment in LA, whether it had resonated with Amelia too.

She recalled when the scene ended, Amelia grinned widely, giggled and gave Victoria a little fist bump. “I think Dani knew exactly what she was doing to Jamie in that conversation” she joked. Had Victoria just gotten wrapped up in the moment? She was professional, she had experienced chemistry with actors before, it was the magic ingredient of making an on-screen relationship organic and believable. She told herself it was Jamie she found charming, not Amelia.

Victoria’s stomach fluttered again. Before her mind could rewind and replay the chemistry reading from the start, the make-up artist announced she was finished. “Ok Victoria, you’re all done.” She put down the pad and dabbed the actress’s lips with tissue.

Victoria smiled and thanked the woman, “Jamie is going to find Dani irresistible, I mean, who could resist one look at this hair” she exclaimed effusively, followed by her trademark awkward stoner laugh. A final puff of hairspray followed her out of the trailer and she strolled over to set four, where they had finished dressing the kitchen. She saw Amelie smiling innocently and offering T’Nia a bag of sweets. “No! Don’t fall for it!” Victoria exclaimed smiling. “My tastebuds still haven’t recovered” she dug the little girl in the ribs and tickled her ferociously, winning herself a high-pitched squeal.

Ten minutes later the actors were sat around the chunky kitchen table, ready to run their lines with Mike and his writing crew. The kitchen was a typical country style room with a large rangemaster cooker and pots and pans hung from the ceiling. Light streamed in through simple stained glassed windows and bounced off the white tiles covering the walls.

They hadn’t practiced the scene together up until this point, Mike preferred to experience scenes played out for the first time and use that as a basis to direct from, it would take multiple shoots anyway, but as professionals, they had committed their lines firmly to memory by now. It wasn’t an uncommon way of working on a large production.

Victoria still preoccupied, fiddled with the cutlery in front of her and found herself casting her eyes around for Amelia. Was she running late? “Where’s Amelia?” She asked T’Nia, she tried to make the question sound casual.

“I just caught a glimpse of her on the other side of that doorway” She said, pointing towards the open door behind the children. “They’re adding some last minute mud” the actress laughed, clasping her hands and smiling around at the others.

“Ewww!” Amelie squeaked. “I’m glad I don’t have to wear mud.”

Victoria craned her neck and glimpsed the edge of a lean arm encased in a short black sleeve and the back of Amelia’s head just out of frame of the doorway, as a make-up artist with a smile on her face applied a dark brown pad to the actress’s face and arm. She was saying something that seemed to make the actress laugh, Victoria couldn’t make out what she said.

She glanced around and it felt like every camera was pointed directly at her, they weren’t of course, but she felt the naked stare of every glass lens reflecting back. Victoria never got anxious when it was a straight forward scene like this, but her stomach felt like it was doing laundry. It’s just hunger she told herself, eyeing the cold bangers and mash on the table in front of Amelie and Ben, her attention drawn back to the doorway by the movement of that black sleeve and slender arm.

Rahul’s voice broke the spell, “ _Penne_ for your thoughts Victoria” he said, leaning down nudging Amelie and winking.

“Are you sure you didn’t have a hand in writing Owens lines?” T’Nia asked, smirking. “Leave her alone, she’s probably just enjoying a moment of peace.”

Before Victoria could say anything, a set dresser swept in to straighten her cutlery and replace the orange she had been shredding inadvertently. She didn’t even remember taking an orange from the fruit bowl. “Ohh…. S….sorry, I didn’t mean… I mean I didn’t realise. Um….” She stammered out, laughing awkwardly.

“No need to apologize Miss Pedretti” He finished tidying the table in front of her and slinked away behind the wall of cameras.

Mike stepped forward, script in hand “ok, rehearsals, from the top. I want to get a feel for the scene, see how you interpret your lines. To your marks please. Let’s roll.”

The actors got into their places, Victoria made her way over to the doorway adjacent to where Amelia had been standing, but she couldn’t see the other actress. She relaxed her shoulders and calmed her nerves. Actor face on, 3, 2, 1, she counted silently.

As Dani, she powerwalked into the kitchen. She was wearing a cute fluffy turtle neck jumper and pale waist high jeans, she feigned being out of breath as though she had been running.

“Oh, there she is!” Rahul exclaimed across the table.

“They got away from me” Victoria said, giving a knowing look at the children with a raised eyebrow. She touched the back of a chair tentatively with her fingers a couple of times, ready to sit down.

 _A phone starts ringing_ Mike said from the corner of the room.

Victoria took a step towards the green phone on the wall but was cut off by Rahul. “No, I’ll get it, you have a seat. Relax.” He insisted in a calm, friendly tone. “If that’s even possible” he added under his breath. “Hello?”

Victoria took her seat and leaned over to the children “what’s for lunch?” she asked in a conspiratorial whisper.

“Bangers and mash.” Ben said in a matter of fact way. Victoria looked at the cold food and her stomach did a couple of cycles again. Hunger, it’s hunger she thought as she looked at the congealed gravy on the plates in front of the kids.

Eyes on T’Nia and with a finger smothered in mash, Amelie moved her hand cheekily towards Bens face. He leaned away in disgust.

“Flora, don’t!” T’Nia exclaimed. Victoria let out a small chuckle.

Ben looked over at Rahul as the actor hung up the phone and moved across the kitchen. “Who was it?” he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know, they hung up” Rahul said dismissively as he reached the stove to dish up.

“Again?” “Another one?” T’Nia and Ben asked simultaneously looking at each other worried.

T’Nia took the pitcher of lemonade and started filling a glass. “Oh, we’ve had some, uh, prank calls.” She handed the glass to Victoria. “Thank you” she smiled back.

“Probably just a wrong number” Rahul said as he brought a plate over to the table and placed it ceremoniously in front of Victoria. “Miss Clayton”. He said as he bowed slightly. Her stomach did another flip, this one was the worst yet. Victoria willed herself to not break eye contact with him, refused to look towards the doorway, she knew what was coming and it was all she could do to draw on her experience force out “thank you” naturally and calmly. She took a sip of lemonade as a distraction.

And then it happened, Amelia walked in. Amelia who is wearing a band tee, with those short black sleeves, under worn denim dungarees with the bottoms rolled up just enough that she could see skin and thick grey socks. The heavy dirt clad boots stepped steady and sure, foot by foot further into the room. The brunettes dark curly hair bounced around her mud streaked face as she sauntered slowly past the table. Amelia allowed Jamie to have what should have been the briefest of glances across the room at the actress in a pink turtle neck jumper. Victoria knew she shouldn’t be looking at her, not yet, her eyes should have stayed on Rahul, that’s what it said in the script. But Amelia was like a magnet, as soon as she stepped through that doorway. If holding her gaze caught Amelia off guard, she didn’t show it. She took a moment to assess the new au pair and walked with a slow excruciating saunter to the sink.

Mike started narrating. “ _The Gardener didn’t even introduce herself to the new au pair_ ” He read out loud. “ _She barely acknowledged her at all. Simply treated her as she had always been there._ ”

Amelia’s willowy arms swung by her sides, she seemed relaxed, in control. Victoria’s eyes stayed glued on the other actress, grazing up and down her body lazily. Amelia reached the sink and started washing her hands. The actresses back was a familiar site these last few days, but Victoria knew this time she would turn around and their story would finally start.

“ _The others in the room just assumed they had already met. Which, if she were honest, was how the au pair felt when she first saw the young woman_.” Mike continued.

She didn’t take her eyes off of ‘the gardener’ her cheeks felt hot and a prickling sensation moved down her neck and rested heavily on her shoulders. Ben and Amelie exchanged an awkward look.

“Who thought it was a good idea to feed these wee gremlins?” Amelia said in a teasing northern accent, still facing the window. The sound of her voice and the unexpected accent sent Victoria’s stomach churning again, she loved that lilt, what was it? It sounded good on her.

“We’re not gremlins!” Amelie said indignantly. “We’re very good children.”

Amelia turned around, eyebrow raised and hands limp in front of her, dripping with water. “Oh, is that right? See, I’m not so sure. Owen what do you think?” She strolled slowly towards Ben and Amelie, shoulders slack and arms by her sides, she was mocking them.

“Oh, it’s hard to say” Rahul said, holding a plate of food and assessing the children. “I’m going to have to get water on them to be sure.”

Amelia cocked her head to one side. “Mmm. Like this?” She said as she broke into a grin and flicked her wet hands at the kids. Ben and Amelie screamed and put their hands up simultaneously to shield their faces. Amelia sat down laughing, eyes crinkling at the sides. Rahul placed the plate of food in front of her.

Victoria was transfixed, she hadn’t blinked. Dark hair really suited Amelia, she thought, really complemented her features, made those eyes even more dangerous. She sat there holding a knife in one hand, a fork in the other and was completely captivated by the way the other actress was so relaxed, so jovial, her charming smile lit up her characters face. The scene didn’t stop for that smile, not for the other actors anyway.

“There you go dear.” T’Nia handed a mug across the table.

“You’re a star, thank you.” Rahul responded with a warm smile, taking the lemonade.

Silence decended across the table as Amelia tediously moved her food around the plate with a fork, slumped in her chair, the children exchanged another awkward look.

T’Nia coughed, glanced at Rahul who raised an eyebrow. She leaned towards Victoria whose eyes were still focused on the head of the table. “Was there somebody on the grounds today” she whispered under her breath. Seconds passed before Victoria felt a gentle kick under the table and heard T’Nia repeat more slowly “Was there somebody on the grounds today.”

Amelia had stopped teasing her mash and was looking at Victoria with curiosity. Victoria suddenly felt the heavy veil of everyone in the room looking at her, it was worse than the cameras. Oh! She felt her face flush and blurted “Was there somebody on the grounds today? Maybe a repair man or something?” The sentence came out in a hurry, all the words rushed into each other like the blood was rushing in her ears.

“Finally, we were waiting for you to _ketchup_ Victoria” Rahul with a smug grin and everyone started laughing, dispelling the awkwardness in the room instantly.

Victoria felt her cheeks burning but started laughing with the others. She looked down shyly “I was going for suspenseful drama” she lied with a jokey tone and took her embarrassment out on her mash with her fork. She felt so stupid, she had completely lost track of what was happening around her as soon as Amelia came in.

“Maybe dial down the staring when Jamie walks in when we run through this again” Amelia chuckled. “The look you had on your face would give the story away immediately. We want to keep the audience guessing about them for a couple of episodes at least” She gave Victoria a playful wink and a warm reassuring smile.

Victoria grinned awkwardly and asked Mike, “Shall we start from the beginning? I promise I won’t fuck up time.” Nothing like some good-natured swearing to reset things. Victoria stood up and realised she had another half-peeled orange in her hand. Confused she put it back in the fruit bowl but was relieved to find that the cycle in her stomach had ended, for now.

\--------------------- X ---------------------

**BLY 1987**

Jamie shivered as she locked the door to the greenhouse. She pulled the zip of her oversized green jacket up to her chin and dropped the big bunch of keys in her pocket. It had felt like a longer day than usual, everyone had been in a heightened state of excitement about the new au pairs arrival, Jamie didn’t really see what the big deal was. Sure, the kids needed someone to look after them but Hannah had been doing a splendid job with them both. Though if she were honest, the gardener hadn’t done much to assist. Children weren’t exactly her forte, she was usually too blunt or couldn’t mask her boredom when they talked to her. Jamie couldn’t help but feel a seed of resentment towards Lord Wingrave, for basically leaving them all get on with it. After Rebecca as well… How long had that advert been in the paper for a new governess? Months?

Then he sent Dani, Dani who shows up with that distracting hair and her non-stop talking. Dani with her pink jumpers and her goofy smile. She _was_ pretty… Jamie thought, thinking back to when she walked into the kitchen at dinner and finally got a good look at the au pair. Jamie had acted casual, put on her best swagger and tried harder than usual to make the kids laugh. The brunette felt a pang of guilt that she hadn’t introduced herself, but the situation had felt awkward and by the time she had committed to the nonchalant approach, there hadn’t felt an easy way out. She had figured at the time that it was simpler that way, for both of them, the au pair would have been tired of tedious greetings by then anyway. Dani had done a reasonable job of going along with the pretence that they had already met, stammering her way through something about someone trespassing on the grounds. Jamie could have sworn the au pair couldn’t take her eyes off her, but she probably just thought Jamie looked like a mess. Still, the gardener enjoyed the moment of warmth that tingled on her cheeks as she recalled Dani’s gaze. Jamie resolved to make sure she introduced herself tomorrow properly, maybe, perhaps. Part of her hesitation was the gardener hadn’t really gotten a read on the au pair yet. She admits she found people hard work and the au pair had a slightly unhinged vibe about her. Perhaps all Americans were that erratic? They were practically savages after all, she thought amused.

With thoughts of the pretty au pair in pink rattling around like jigsaw pieces in her head, Jamie strolled back down the path towards her car. The manor and its soft glowing windows cast a cosy orange light onto the gravel which crunched under her heavy boots. Jamie decided the manor looked too inviting and settled on a warm cup of tea before driving home. Even in the heated greenhouse she had felt chilled this evening and her jeep had shite heating that she couldn’t be arsed to fix. She cupped her hands together, blew into them and gained a short-lived feeling of warmth, her hot breath billowing out between the gaps of her fingers, into the dark veil of the evening. her breath hung suspended in the air like a white ghostly cloud for only a second, before dispersing as quickly as the cold returned to her hands. 

She reached the side entrance and slipped quietly into the kitchen, unzipping her jacket and taking a moment to bask in the warmth of the residual heat the kitchen had to offer. She shrugged off the jacket and tossed it into the back of one of the chairs and flipped the switch on the kettle. Standing on tip toes Jamie searched the cupboard for her favourite mug, it was one Owen had bought her for Christmas a couple of years ago. Where the fuck was it? Her eyes cast around the kitchen and she noticed it sitting upside down on the draining board. Who the hell used her mug? Huffing she grabbed the mug and chucked a teabag inside. On the side of the mug it read “Stay back, still grumpy.”

Tea in hand she settled herself at the kitchen table and found herself staring at the empty chair Dani had been sat in earlier that evening. The American mystery, what were her secrets? Everyone had secrets. She’d been observant enough to notice that there had been a faint white band of skin on Dani’s left hand, she concluded the au pair had been probably married before coming to Bly, or was still married but not wearing her ring. At least that told her one thing about Dani, she was straight. She sighed deeply, swilling hot tea around her mouth, enjoying the burn. She thought about every time Dani had stolen a glance at her, Jamie had awkwardly looked away like she found her food more interesting than the au pairs conversation. She must have come across as rude, or disinterested. She closed her eyes with a pang of guilt and pressed her forehead against the hot mug, trying to sooth the ache she felt seeping into her head. She was in trouble, she recognised this feeling, she found Dani more than just pretty. Jamie was attracted to a straight American with terrible taste in jumpers and the inability to stay quiet during an awkward silence. Fuck, she needed a fag and some fresh air, screw the cold.

Jamie rummaged around in her coat pocket and felt the comforting shape of the cigarette packet, but just as she made her escape to the side entrance, a scream tore through the house. Jamie’s body went cold at the unexpected sound and the unlit cigarette fell from her mouth to the floor. The scream turned into a cascade of screams, one running into the next, ending in an illegible verbal chaos. Jamie was so stunned and the screaming was so disorienting, she couldn’t initially locate where it was coming from. Her instincts kicked in and she grabbed a meat mallet from the kitchen counter and ran into the hall wildly, trying to pinpoint the origin of the noise. The screams floated down the staircase and tailed off into desperate wailing. Could she hear banging? The sound and sensation of hysteria wound round Jamie like a tight elastic band, until it snapped under the pressure and the gardener felt a rush of adrenalin surge through her body.

She took the stairs two at a time, her short but athletic legs making easy work of the steps. She held the mallet up defensively, arm muscles flexing and teeth clenched, shit, the howling was coming from the childrens room. Her heart was hammering in her chest painfully and blood rushed in her ears. Jamie tried to slow her breathing and padded silently down the corridor and put her ear tentatively to the door. The sobbing had turned into short, panicky gasps and she could hear things being thrown around. Jamie opened the door and found Miles and Flora standing in front of the closet in the corner of the room with guilty looks on their faces. “What did you do?!” she shouted, lowering the meat mallet when Flora’s eyes widened at the gardeners unexpected and menacing appearance. The children backed away from the closet and exchanged another guilty look. She strode over to Miles and grabbed him roughly by the shoulders, making him stagger and repeated forcefully “WHAT DID YOU DO?!” He pointed slowly to the closet as Flora whispered, tears in her eyes “we were only trying to keep Miss Clayton safe”.

Jamie spun round and grabbed the closet doorknob, pushing against the door, it was locked. “Dani?!” She shouted through the heavy wooden door. The only response she got was a soft sobbing and the sound of erratic breathing. “Where is the key?” she asked angrily, turning to the frightened children, who backed away and held each other. Turning back to the door exasperated the gardener made a decision and raised the mallet and hit the doorknob, once, twice, a third time until it shattered and fell to the floor. Jamie threw herself at the door and bounced straight back off. Fuck that hurt, as pain shot down her arm. She took a few steps back and ran at the door again, shoulder braced, this time she felt a slight movement from the wood. The brunette threw the mallet down and took a longer run up and threw all her power at the door and this time the wood gave way under her strength and flew open with a crack, swinging on its hinges and wood splinters erupting into the air.

Jamie crashed through the doorway with flailing arms, surprised at the sudden momentum. She landed with a thud on the floor, her fall cushioned by a pile of messy blankets and the shocked au pair. The gardener found herself sprawled awkwardly across Dani, whose face was so close to Jamie’s that she could feel the Americans hot, panicky breath on her cheek. Both women lay in a tangle of arms and legs dazed and breathless. Jamie scrambled frantically to raise herself off the au pair with her arms and created a small gap between their bodies as the gardeners and au pairs chests heaved in synchronicity. Dani’s eyes were wide and wild with confusion as the brunette hovered above her. She held the gardeners concerned, embarrassed gaze as Jamie continued squirming like an animal caught in a trap; legs all tangled in blankets. Then the brunette felt a hot, tentative hand on her shaking arm. Jamie looked at Dani and saw her eyes had softened and a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Jamie felt herself blush furiously and with the little strength she had left in her arms, she managed to roll off of Dani and onto her back.

The gardener and au pair laid on the closet floor staring at the ceiling, side by side on their backs in a heap of blankets. Anxious and embarrassed breathing mingled heavily above them as an awkward wordless void filled the tiny room until it felt stifling. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Dani with her eyes locked on the ceiling and not one to let an awkward moment linger, broke the silence and said more calmly than she felt “So, I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, I’m Dani”. The gardener smiled up at the ceiling, feeling a warm sense of relief. “I’m Jamie” she said softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to twist the last scene in episode 1 around a bit and give heavy handed nod to Jamie's role in Dani overcoming any sexuality anxieties or generally coming to terms with some of her emotional hurdles in that area, by literally helping her out of the closet and breaking down any barriers Dani might have still had up.

**Author's Note:**

> I wasn't sure if breaking the 4th wall with Victoria/Amelia story running parallel to the Dani/Jamie love story would be well received. Personally, I ship them the more I see and hear them interview. I've done lots of research (most enjoyable part!), so if you enjoy this, look out for those factual anecdotes that come straight from Victoria and Amelia themselves! I'm just twisting them into my own fantasies haha. If you think it distracts from the Dani/Jamie story, I'll just run with that. Let me know your thoughts! I can take the criticism haha ;-)


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